Top Dog
by Sar'Kalu
Summary: A crime scene containing a dead marine who is part of a super secret black ops team that not even the Director has knowledge of; and a blood covered, preternaturally intelligent beast of a dog. How in hell is Leroy Jethro Gibbs and his team going to figure this one out, when there are no answers to their many, many questions and dead ends leading no where?
1. Part 1

Title

Top Dog

Author

Sar'Kalu

Summary

_A crime scene containing a dead marine who is part of a super-secret black ops team that not even the Director has knowledge of; and a blood covered, preternaturally intelligent beast of a dog. How in hell are Leroy Jethro Gibbs and his team going to figure this one out, when there are no answers to their many, many questions and dead ends leading nowhere? _

Disclaimer

_NCIS_ is the intellectual property of CBS and their affiliates; and _Harry Potter_ is the intellectual property of J.K Rowling, Bloomsbury and Warner Brothers Movies and their affiliates.

Rating

M: explicit language, sexual content and violent themes.

* * *

Part One

Who Let the Dog Out?

Arriving at a crime scene is a fairly regular occurrence for Senior Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs; but arriving at a crime scene where the victim is being guarded by a crazed, blood covered beast is not the most usual of circumstances. Gibbs stared at the beast that was savagely growling over the prone marine, its icy blue eyes unnerving in their intensity as they stared at him, his every move tracked with frightening proficiency.

The ex-marine didn't scare easily, but there was something about this dog that was… hinky. Gibbs' tan suit should have clashed with his black polo shirt but instead seemed to fit the Senior Agent like a dress shirt never would have. Cold blue eyes watched the dog stand stiffly over the body of a young brown haired male with blue eyes that expressed his extreme surprise; a bullet hole sat in the middle of his forehead leaving Gibbs to guess that the young man had never seen his death coming. Which made the grey-haired agent extremely pissed off.

The young man was dressed in Navy fatigues with an odd cross symbol on his shoulder, a symbol that Gibbs had seen before, although he hadn't been privy to the information behind it. Top secret, that symbol; whatever the hell it was. The growling beast that had his team so scared was of indeterminate species or breed; gathering from its size, Gibbs was pretty damn sure that it was at _least_ a quarter bear. Standing level with Gibbs' hips, the dog had bright blue eyes and long teeth that matched none of the wounds on his dead marine. Gibbs could only assume that the dog wasn't involved in the marines death, but wasn't ready to write him off just yet.

"Uh, Gibbs?" Special Agent Kate Todd cut across his thoughtful musings, her brown eyes were wary as she watched him circle the beast and his... Well, Gibbs wasn't too certain what the marine was to this dog, only that he needed to find out and ASAP!

"Gibbs!" Kate again, her voice sharper, her tone more worried as the beasts' growls intensified. Kate was a good agent, her training in the Special Forces gave her good instincts but to Gibbs she was still a probie. Her long brown hair was twisted into a bun today and she wore smart grey slacks and a neatly pressed dark blue blouse that contrasted prettily with her pale skin. Tony hadn't stop shooting her appreciative looks all morning.

"What, Kate?" Gibbs demanded, his voice a rough bark, irritation bleeding through the two sharp words. The beast narrowed its' eyes, disregarding Kate and DiNozzo. Odd.

"You wanna back up, boss?" Special Agent Tony DiNozzo asked helpfully. DiNozzo was a man with a carefree grin and messy brown hair; he had the overall appearance of a play boy which his professional black suit and open-necked white shirt did nothing to detract from.

Gibbs gritted his teeth and barely refrained from rolling his eyes. Dammit, but his crime scene was being disrupted by a damn mutt of indiscriminate origin. "Stand down!" He snapped at the dog... beast... creature. Whatever it was it was bloody covered in his victims blood and ruining evidence.

Surprisingly, the blue eyed devil hound did as ordered. Huffing, the creature backed up several steps and hit the deck, its' too intelligent eyes fastened with that same frightening intensity as before. Except now the beasts' gaze wasn't malevolent; now it was weighing, judging. Watching.

"Freaky," Tony mumbled, sliding closer to the vic, only to freeze as the dog turned its' ice cold gaze on him and let out a short snarl.

"Enough!" Gibbs barked, irritated with the delay. The dog subsided reluctantly. "Kate, bag and tag; DiNozzo, sketch and measure! Double time! We've wasted enough time on this today already." Gibbs met the stone cold glare of the strange dog and frowned. "Someone get me an ID for the dead marine and the dog!"

"You sure that's a dog, boss?" DiNozzo asked curiously, his gaze darting warily between the devil dog and the sketches he was roughing out. "'Cause I'm pretty sure I've never seen a dog that evil before in my life!"

Kate swallowed nervously as she skittered past the prone beast, "you know, I'm kinda with Tony on this one Gibbs; he's unnaturally intelligent for a dog."

The dog huffed, yawned and then met Gibbs' eyes only to roll his own. His message blatantly clear to all three Agents, he then rested his nose on his paws and let out a soft sigh. Gibbs' brows rose in mild surprise; Kate was right; hell, DiNozzo was kinda right; that dog wasn't normal!

"Get back to work!" Gibbs barked at his team as the ME van pulled up with Doctor Donald 'Ducky' Mallard and his assistant, Gerald Jackson, piled out. Ducky wasted no time in hurrying over to his latest guest, his critical eyes taking in every detail, barely flicking to the apparently tame dog that lay not five feet away.

"Careful Ducky," DiNozzo cautioned, his words bemused. "That damn dog is _vicious_."

Ducky blinked, bewildered, as he took in the apparently dozing beast and DiNozzo who was gingerly stepping around the creature as though it was a crate of C4. "I beg your pardon?"

The dogs' ear twitched and a blue eye slid open curiously, taking in the good doctor with that same strange intent gaze that made every primal instinct in Gibbs want to run swiftly in the opposite direction. The good Doctor apparently didn't feel the same as he pulled on rubber gloves and crouched by the dead man. Wearing his usual suit and bow tie combo, Ducky was the most well-dressed of the NCIS team; that Ducky was a Scotsman only added to the image of Ducky being a British gentleman.

"The dog was snarling at us over the body or our dead marine, Duck," Gibbs said calmly, pretending that he did _not _fear the blood drenched beast that lay so passively beside his Scottish ME.

"I'm not surprised," Ducky announced after a slight perusal of the creature that watched him so intently. "Dogs are notoriously protective of their masters, Jethro. I wouldn't be surprised if our boy here was trying to protect his.

"It reminds me of a story I heard when I was a lad in Edinburgh." Ducky reminisced softly as he stuck the liver thermometer into the dead marine. "Greyfriars Bobby he was called, the dog that is, not his owner."

Ducky winked at the closely listening Kate who smiled gently back. Kate had always loved Ducky's stories, although she did wish he'd pick better times to tell them. Crime scenes and morgues are not places conducive to listening, she reflected as the thermometer beeped.

"Bobby was the most famous dog in Scotland, and has an statue erected outside Greyfriars church-"

"Another time, Duck?" Gibbs interjected, impatiently waiting for a time of death. The dog grumbled unhappily and huffed at Ducky, looking imploringly at the ME.

"Yes, well," Ducky muttered, looking flustered. Reading the stats, Ducky quickly rattled off: "time of death is estimated at 0700 this morning. Cause of death is unknown, there is just too much damage to pinpoint what killed him," Ducky noted as he gestured to extreme bruising and swelling on the victims face. "But it is safe to assume that the bullet to the forehead contributed."

Gibbs nodded tightly and stalked away, phone in hand as he jotted down the TOD and COD and then stuck his pad into his pocket, his cell almost leaping to his ear. Ducky turned back to his newest companion, having noted that Gibbs' team had packed up and were following their boss back to the sedan.

"Perhaps you would like to hear of Greyfriars Bobby, then?" Ducky hummed to the dog as Gerald lay out the black body bag…


	2. Part 2

Part Two

A Friend for the Family

Ducky's newest friend lay beneath the good Doctor's desk, attached by a black lead and fastened to a metal leg. His icy blue eyes never wavered from the ME's back as Ducky used the rib cutters to open up the dead marines chest. It was almost quiet in the Morgue what with Ducky telling tales to the dead man on his slab and Gerald blatantly ignoring the other man with his ears firmly plugged into an MP3 player that he had sneakily attached to his belt beneath his scrubs.

It had taken the medical duo close to an hour to coax the freaked out dog onto the ME van and even longer than that to drag the recalcitrant creature out of the van to the vets to get him checked out by one of Ducky's friends. Three hours later Ducky was now beginning his autopsy on a body of what everyone had presumed was the dog's master. Given that the vet hadn't found a micro-chip in the dog nor was there any kind of tattoos in his ear, Ducky beginning to wonder at the dog's identity.

What they had found out, after a long, wet bath where the vet and Gerald had nearly lost their fingers to the sharp teeth the dog sported, was that the dog was definitely male given that he was intact and cheerfully dominant of every person, dog or creature he met; and that he was a Husky with rare colouring. According to the awed vet, who was apparently something of a Husky _fanatic_, the dog was something of a perfect specimen with strong shoulders, a deep chest and the clearest, bluest eyes that the vet had seen in years which had gained the husky the appellation of 'Ice'.

Not that this had made Gerald any fonder of 'the hell beast', even if Ducky did vouch for his character.

Despite the harrying occurrences of the morning, Ducky was quickly discovering that the oddities of the case didn't stop with the dog. The man on the table had the beginnings of blonde regrowth, leading Ducky to assume that the marine had dyed his hair. Not only that, but the man's various bruises couldn't be attributed to any blunt instrument that Ducky knew of, nor to any sharp instrument as there was no cuts on the man's body; _anywhere_. The bullet hole was _post mortem_; and was actually from a rifled musket that had left no pellet or any kind of projectile; only the hole.

The longer that Ducky spent on the autopsy, the more he became confused. There were signs of stress that came from conflict, yet the young man was clearly only in his early twenties; far too young to have seen warfare. Then there were obvious markings of various fractures, most only two or three years old and definite marks of torture; again, surely the marine was far too young to have experienced this, Ducky thought to himself.

Running the dead marines dental work showed that he was of British origin; the training received by British doctors left pretty obvious indicators for one of Ducky's caliber; but the man had worn a USMC uniform. Nothing made sense to the NCIS ME, even more confusing was that he had received a positive ID on the man's identity, but wasn't able to access the file as it was classified beyond his level. The file he had been able to access was redacted to only contain the man's codename and rank: Two Whiskey, Captain.

"What have you got for me, Duck?" Gibbs asked as he entered the Morgue, coffee in hand.

Ducky shrugged helplessly, "I have no idea, Jethro. This doesn't make sense!"

Gibbs raised an eyebrow in surprise, Ducky was a competent ME and Gibbs trusted him completely. "What's up?"

"I have nothing," Ducky explained in frustration, ignoring his assistant's amusement; he had banished Gerald to paperwork duty for being wholly unhelpful in his search for answers. Gerald was now writing up the backlog of case notes that had swamped the mortuary over the past month. "It's like the man doesn't exist; no, it's worse than that, I know he exists but only on a certain level!"

"What are you on about, Duck?" Gibbs asked, not following.

"His name, Jethro," Ducky sighed exasperatedly. "His files been completely redacted and I can't access it at all!"

Gibbs hummed slightly, frowning at the dead marine on the table. "What do you know?"

"Only a code name," Ducky sighed, stripping off his gloves.

"Which is?" Gibbs asked when it appeared as though Ducky wouldn't answer.

"Whiskey," Ducky answered as he moved to his desk, stepping around the dog.

"He's Irish," Gibbs mused to himself; having enough familiarity with the marine core to know that a person's accent or obsession could get them tagged with a nickname that could then transfer over to a tag. Gibbs' own Sierra tag had come from his excellence during his time with Sierra Unit that had been disbanded shortly after Shannon and Kelly's death. "Or just loves Whiskey."

"Hmm, I don't think so," Ducky answered, flicking through the extremely brief file he'd managed to access. "It says here that he's Two Whiskey."

"Whiskey is his unit's name, Duck!" Gibbs groaned, realising that they had less than nothing to go on. "Here, pass me that."

Ducky rolled his eyes, but did as he was bid, passing over the thin file to his friend. Watching Gibbs' deepening frown as he read, Ducky felt a flicker of satisfaction. This case was turning up nothing to go on and Ducky knew that Gibbs hated mysteries.

Gibbs sighed as he put down the file, nothing. "He's a captain." Gibbs turned to look at their dead marine with frustration, "and he definitely has no ID on him?"

"None," Ducky answered.

"Well, do we know how he died at least?" Gibbs demanded bitingly.

"Not really," Ducky replied, leading Gibbs back to the table. "The bruising is from blunt force trauma, but the areas are too broad to be anything specific."

"So not the bullet hole in his head then?" Gibbs asked curiously.

"No, that was administered post mortem," Ducky sighed. "The man died from extensive bruising and internal haemorrhaging, but from what I do not know."

Gibbs growled slightly beneath his breath; "so we have nothing?"

"Nothing," Ducky agreed.

"What about the dog?" Gibbs inquired.

"Nothing on that front either," Ducky replied in clear frustration. "From what we can tell the dog hasn't ever been to a vet. He's completely intact and is a Siberian husky with rare colouration; but unlikely to be wholly purebred." Ducky shrugged helplessly. "The vet said that if the dog was purebred, he'd have been listed and micro-chipped."

Gibbs ran a hand through his hair and sighed once more, "right, thanks Duck."

"I wish I could be more help," Ducky admitted. "I've been calling the dog Ice and Gerald bought him a collar and lead."

Gibbs looked at the husky that had been tied to Ducky's desk, noting that the dog's eyes were open once more and were watching him and the ME with that same strange intensity that he now pegged as an oddity of the dog's clear eye colour. "Ice, huh?" Gibbs mused making his way over to the dog carefully. "You wanna come with me to visit Abby, Ice?"

The dog's tail thumped twice on the ground and his jaw dropped into a canine grin as he lifted his head. Gibbs' took that as a yes and grinned in return.

"C'mon then," Gibbs said, untying the dog and tugging the large husky to his feet. Ice climbed to his large paws with an indignant huff but followed Gibbs cheerfully enough. Clearly whatever had frightened the dog at the crime scene had blown over enough that Ice was now comfortable enough to be friendly and calm. "Definitely not a hell hound," Gibbs chuckled to himself; he'd always loved dogs.

Ducky waved the pair away with a small smile, amused at Gibbs' soft-heartedness that made an appearance only around children and animals. Ice was in good hands. As Ducky returned to the dead marine captain he heard Gerald let out a thick sigh of relief as he muttered about devil hounds and sharp teeth. Ducky grinned.

**xXx**

"Gibbs!"

Gibbs blinked as a rocket-Abby slammed into him and squeezed tightly. "Hey, Abs," he smiled at the forensic scientist.

Abby was a tall woman with thin black pig tails who tended to dress in black jeans and shirts. Today she wore her usual black jeans but had a bright red shirt on beneath her white lab coat, there was some kind of slogan on the front but Gibbs was more interested in what she'd found out for him rather than what she was wearing.

"No Caff-Pow?" Abby asked with a cute pout, her hazel eyes sparkling with mischief.

"I have no idea why you love those things," Gibbs commented as he looped Ice's lead around one of the many tables in the forensics labs. "They taste disgusting."

"Because they are amazing," Abby dismissed with a roll of her eyes. Grinning brightly she turned to the husky who sat patiently near the door, Gibbs was impressed with the dogs' training, not many would heel when told or be so quiet in a strange place. The lead truly made a difference in Ice's behaviour. "Who's this then?" Abby cooed, rubbing the husky's ears and head. "Who's a handsome guy?"

"Thanks Abs," Gibbs smirked.

"Gibbs!" Abby protested with a bright grin; "what's his name?"

"No idea," Gibbs shrugged. "But Ducky's been calling him Ice."

Ice twisted his head to Gibbs, his attention dragged away from Abby's nimble fingers and long nails. Sharp blue eyes met Gibbs' own before the dog apparently decided that Gibbs was talking about him, not to him. Ice let out a groaning sigh and closed his eyes in pleasure as Abby scratched behind his ears.

"I think he likes you," Gibbs noted with a small smile.

"Of course," Abby agreed. "I love dogs!"

"I noticed," Gibbs rolled his eyes. "But, dogs aside, what have you got for me?"

Abby sighed in disappointment but jumped up anyway, bouncing over to her computer. "Not a whole lot, I've had a lot of pings but so far all I've found out is that our marine is a captain with a redacted file and was as healthy as a horse to go on." Abby shrugged, her hazel eyes flicking over the computers screen. "There's literally nothing to go on, Gibbs."

"So I've heard," Gibbs muttered. "It's making me wonder just what is being hidden. Who was this guy?"

"I have no idea, but whatever it is, it's big, Gibbs." Abby said seriously, spinning around to meet his eyes. "Like massively big; the Captain's file has two people on it and one is the _President_."

Gibbs' eyes narrowed in thought. It was time to grill the Director, he thought. "Thanks Abs," Gibbs said finally, kissing her forehead with a smile. Retrieving Ice, Gibbs strode from the forensics lab with a determined stride. It was time to get some answers.

Abby watched him leave with a worried expression; times like these she wondered if Gibbs and his team were getting into something… scary.

**xXx**

Gibbs stalked into the bullpen with a stern expression on his face, Ice trotting at his heels as Tony and Kate jumped in surprise. Neither had seen him exit the lift and both were a bit shocked at his expression. Exchanging nervous glances the two Agents slowly stood and watched as Gibbs threaded the dog's lead around the leg of his desk and then through the loop and then re-clipped it to the collar.

Gibbs' movements were careful and deliberate indicating his anger and frustration at the case; Tony winced at the thought of telling their boss that neither of them had found anything useful to the case. Kate, who had been in charge of personal details, hadn't even found an address, let alone a cell number. While Tony had no leads nor indications of any kind of foul play because he didn't even have an identity for the dead marine yet.

Gibbs met his teams' nervous eyes and nodded slightly, "don't worry; I already know. Ducky and Abby have nothing and it's not too hard to imagine that you guys don't either."

Tony sank onto his chair in relief while Kate bristled in annoyance; three hours of no leads was making her angry and frustrated. Kate _loathed_ failure. Tony was just glad that he wouldn't be getting chewed out by his superior, he truly looked up to Gibbs and hated failing him; because of all the men in Tony's life, none had his respect like Gibbs.

"What do we do then?" Kate demanded as she made her way over to Gibbs' desk, her brown eyes fiery in their determination to catch a break with this case.

"I don't know, Kate," Gibbs said sarcastically meeting her eyes firmly. Gibbs straightened and looked Ice over, frowning slightly. "DiNozzo!"

"Yeah, Boss?" Tony jumped in surprise.

"Get Ice a bucket or something to drink from," Gibbs instructed.

"Who?" Tony asked blankly.

"The dog, DiNozzo!" Gibbs barked as he made his way to the stairwell that led to the Director's office and MTAC.

"Where are you going?" Kate called after their boss, Tony standing next to her.

"MTAC!" Gibbs shouted in reply as he jogged up the stairs. "Keep looking, Kate. Find a lead!"

Kate and Tony watched their boss enter MTAC and then exchanged a glance.

"Well, that was different," Tony muttered sarcastically.

Kate rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Don't you have a dog to water, Tony?"

"He's not a plant, Kate, you don't water dogs." Tony replied in his best 'I'm a smart ass' tone. Kate looked ready to throttle him and Tony grinned at her. "You've never had a dog, have you, Kate?"

Kate shot him a withering glare, "I'm more of a cat person."

Tony smirked and swaggered towards the elevator. "_That_," he shouted back at Kate, who was at her desk, "explains everything!"

Kate stared after Tony in confusion, "what does that mean?" She wondered to herself; turning to the husky, she narrowed her eyes in suspicion; Ice was staring at her from where he lay beneath Gibbs' desk. "What are _you_ looking at?"

Ice rolled his eyes and laid his head on his paws; he had no interest in crazy people who talked to themselves…


	3. Part 3

**AN:**

Before we begin, I've decided to write this chapter from Ice's point of view and so can hardly be termed as typical as Ice doesn't use the correct names for people. A brief explanation of the names that he does use is below, and I hope that it is not too confusing for people. That said; let us continue on with the story.

People according to Ice:

_Anger and Pain_: Gibbs

_Honey and Clever_: Kate

_Happiness and Leather_: Tony

_Soap and Wool_: Ducky

Places according to Ice:

_The Room that Smelt of Metal and Death_: Autopsy

* * *

Part Three

The Nose Knows

Ice stretched out beneath the _One Who Smelt of Anger-and-Pain_'s desk, the plastic covered chipboard smelt of men's cologne and sawdust to the husky dog, a scent that _Anger and Pain_ carried around over his own, natural scent. Ice didn't know what to make of Anger and Pain as he was clearly the alpha dog but he was also old. Ice's eyes travelled to where _Happiness and Leather_ usually sat and knew that the younger male would one day make a bid for the leadership of the pack; despite this, _Anger and Pain_ treated _Happiness and Leather_ like a pup; one to be taught and protected but also disciplined when necessary.

Glad to be out of the _Room that Smelt of Metal and Death_, Ice surveyed the Bull Pen with intelligent eyes; the female that smelt of _Honey and Clever_ sat behind her own desk nearby. She also didn't fit in with the rest of the pack; despite her youth _Honey and Clever_ appeared to be both pup and mate to _Anger and Pain_; even if _Happiness and Leather_ didn't seem to understand this. Confused by the strange dynamics of this pack-that-was-not, Ice huffed a deep, dragging sigh and rested his head on his paws.

_Honey and Clever_ turned to the husky, a frown on her pretty face. "Are you okay Ice?"

Ice tilted his head to the side and let his tail thump the ground, was he okay? Of course he was okay. Slightly confused but he was very healthy, the _One Who Smelt of Soap and Wool_ had said so. That was what okay meant, didn't it? Okay meant healthy, yes? Ice frowned and let out a slight whine, humans were so confusing.

_Honey and Clever_ let out a groan, "great, now I'm talking to a dog. Good one, Kate."

Ice crawled closer to _Honey and Clever_, worried about his new pack mate. Humans weren't supposed to talk to themselves, were they? That wasn't normal, was it? Ice sniffed the air trying to see if _Honey and Clever_ was ill but smelt nothing but dirt, dust and sweaty bodies; compared to the air surrounding her, _Honey and Clever_ was a breath of fresh air which usually indicated good health.

Any further interaction between Ice and his newest pack mate, who may or may not have been healthy and well, was halted by the arrival of _Happiness and Leather_, who bounded into the Bull Pen like an overgrown puppy who had just caught his first lizard; grinning broadly at his pack mate, _Happiness and Leather_ sidled up to _Honey and Clever_ with a mischievous look in his eye. Ice watched the pair and wondered if _Happiness and Leather_ was courting the alpha's chosen mate as a way of asserting his own dominance or if he didn't know that _Honey and Clever_ had chosen _Anger and Pain_ as a mate. Ice whimpered inaudibly at the thought, packs had been torn apart for less.

"Where have you been?" _Honey and Clever_ demanded of _Happiness and Leather_ and Ice could only conclude that _Honey and Clever_ was the beta of the pack. Soothed by the thought, Ice swivelled his eyes over to _Happiness and Leather_ who merely grinned and hefted a white plastic bag in answer.

Curious, Ice crawled from beneath _Anger and Pain's_ desk and tried to sniff at the plastic bag only to be pulled up short by The Lead. Ice glared at The Lead but accepted its dominance and sat down; _Happiness and Leather_ would bring the bag closer and then Ice's curiosity would be satisfied. Ice was no cat to be sticking his nose where it didn't belong.

"I went out to buy Ice a water bowl, Kate," _Happiness and Leather_ answered the beta with a cocky smirk.

"It couldn't have taken that long to buy a water bowl, Tony," _Honey and Clever_ retorted smugly.

"It didn't," _Happiness and Leather_ replied as he made his way over to Ice. Ice wagged his tail excitedly and let out an enthusiastic whine, his nose twitching as he caught the smell of plastic, rope and meat. "He needs food too, and something to keep him entertained."

_Honey and Clever_ made her way over to _Happiness and Leather_, watching as the younger male pulled out two plastic bowls and filled one with dried dog food and the other with water from his water bottle. Ice fell upon the food like he was a starved beast and felt his fur curl in embarrassment, knowing that if his pack mother ever found out, he would be scolded to within an inch of his life.

_Honey and Clever_ blinked in surprise and smiled as she watched Ice take a bite of food and then drop it to take a drink of water, clearly undecided as to which was more important: thirst or hunger. "Well done, Tony." _Honey and Clever_ complimented her pack mate.

_Happiness and Leather_ smelt of pride and smugness as he shot _Honey and Clever_ a please look. "Thanks, Kate."

"Well, even you had to have a good idea once in a while," was _Honey and Clever's_ swift reply as she backed away to her desk and away from the cocky younger male.

Ice watched the interaction and amended his conclusion to the knowledge that _Honey and Clever_ preferred _Anger and Pain_ but also quite liked _Happiness and Leather_ and was confused by it all, unable to make a decision. Ice sighed in reluctance and decided to help _Anger and Pain_ realise that _Honey and Clever_ was the mate for him. _Happiness and Leather_ would make a very bad alpha in Ice's opinion; there was something… unfinished about the younger male.

"DiNozzo!" _Anger and Pain's_ voice barked out across the Bull Pen and Ice watched as the silver haired alpha come to a stop in front of the younger male, blue eyes hard. "Why are you standing around doing nothing?"

_Happiness and Leather_ whitened as fear flashed through him and he darted to his desk like a reprimanded pup, his tail between his legs. "Nothing, Boss!"

_Anger and Pain_ rolled his eyes and stalked over to his desk and took his seat, "then find something to do, DiNozzo, stop wasting my time."

"On it, Boss!" _Happiness and Leather_ said quickly, busying himself with the contraption that all humans were obsessed with, Ice thought it was called a 'Kom-pew-tah'.

_Anger and Pain_ turned to Ice with a slight smile, running rough hands through Ice's thick fur. "Have they been behaving themselves, Ice?"

Ice grunted and shrugged, bemused as to what the alpha meant by 'behaving', neither pack mate had done as they were told but neither had they made messes. It was all up to interpretation, really. Ice let his eyes drift shut in pleasure as _Anger and Pain scratched_ behind his ears with thick fingers; this was heaven, Ice decided.

**xXx**

_Ice stood on a green lawn and felt the wind ruffle his fur, the blue sky stretched for miles above his head and it was a lazy summer day. Grinning a canine grin, Ice barked in joy and jumped up high, trying to catch the clouds that skidded above his head and taunted the brave hunter with their fluffy bodies that reminded Ice of rabbits and foxes. _

_Ice let out another deafening bark and ran, his body bending and flexing as he covered the ground in leaps and bounds. The wind streamed through his fur and his tail wagged with delight and Ice howled with joy. _

_This was divine._

_Ice's eyes caught the movement of a brown hare that broke the cover of a nearby shrub that Ice was certain hadn't been there before; and Ice grinned in delight. Ice blue eyes narrowed and giant paws dug blunt nails into the soft ground, propelling the husky dog forwards. _

_The hare let out a bark of fear and kicked out with its strong hind legs, but Ice avoided them by jumping to the side, his tongue lolling out of his mouth in sheer happiness. The hare then tried to escape by darting to the side, but Ice was not fooled. _

_With great bounds, Ice flanked the hare and snapped his teeth at the smaller creature, only to watch as the herbivore slipped to the side and making Ice narrowly miss; his teeth puncturing nothing but air. _

_Above the dogs' head, the previously clear sky broiled with dark clouds, casting the world into shadow and allowing the hare to fling itself into a burrow that opened up in the ground, leaving Ice to pace and pant, unsatisfied by his hunt._

_Ice stuck his head into the burrow, barking madly as he caught the scent of many rabbits and hares all out of his reach and Ice growled in frustration. Sticking his broad paws into the opening, Ice tried to dig the hare out, never noticing that the burrow's scent ad changed and the mouth was slowly widening._

_With a shocked yelp, Ice tumbled into the suddenly gaping chasm that the burrow had turned into._

_Ice landed with a heavy thud on a cement and stone floor; the welcoming scent of rabbits and hares had changed to a threatening mix of pain, fear and danger, leaving the husky unsettled as he scanned the area for threats._

_Movement to the side had Ice baring his teeth and growling at the intruder only to freeze in shock as a tall, thin human dressed in black with blazing scarlet eyes and pale skin stepped free of the shadows._

_"__Haaarry Potterrr!"_

Ice shot upright with a howl, fear flooding his system. Knocking his head on the hard wood of the desk above his head, Ice snapped at the hands that grabbed at him and a burst of metallic warmth spread across his tongue. His eyes were unseeing as the scents of honey, leather and rage flooded his nostrils and blended with the scents of fear, danger and pain from his past. Disorientation took hold and Ice leapt sideways.

"Shit, Kate, look out!"

Memories of his past clashed with his understanding of the present and Harry Potter/Ice tried to flee from the people crowding him only to have his air supply suddenly restricted and panic set in. Thrashing wildly, the human trapped in a dogs' body snapped and snarled as rage and fear clouded his senses; leaving him reeling.

"DiNozzo cut the lead now!"

Voices surrounded him, panic set in and his vision blacked out.

The Dog known as Ice; the Man known as Harry Potter; neither was able to discern friend from foe. All Ice could feel was the primitive fear of the unknown, his heart beating a million miles an hour in his chest, his breath gasping raggedly in his throat and the all too consuming feeling that everything was falling apart at the seams.

"Ice!"

"Gibbs, be careful!"

Harry Potter felt his vision swim into focus, the hazy image of blue super imposed onto grey and wondered if this was what hell looked like.

"Ice, whoa boy!"

A deep voice and the smell of sawdust, bourbon, _anger and pain_ flooded Ice's, Harry's nostrils and the husky dog panted and struggled upright; hands guided him and blue met blue.

Gibbs, Alpha, _The-One-Who-Smelt-Of-Anger-Pain-And-Grief_.

Harry-Potter-Who-Was-Ice felt the surge of fear ebb and his heart settle to a more normal rhythm. Shame enveloped him and he burrowed his head into Gibbs' chest, allowing a pitiful whine of sorrow, fear and pain taint his vocal chords.

Ice remembered.

And he didn't like it one single bit.


	4. Part 4

A/N:

Spoilers for "_Left For_ _Dead"_,_ NCIS _Season One; all rights reserved CBS and their affiliates.

* * *

Part Four

A Day in the Life

Leroy Jethro Gibbs stared at the panting dog in his arms in confusion, just what in hells name happened to the damn thing to have made it freak out like that? Must have been one hell of a nightmare, that was for damn sure. The bloody beast had reacted like a marine with PTSD!

DiNozzo was cradling a bitten hand and Kate was staring at the dog with the eyes of one who would very much like to reach for a gun and plant one between the beasts eyes; Gibbs wasn't too sure that he should be protesting that one either. Gibbs relaxed his tight hold somewhat and stared into frightened blue eyes, noting the unusual clarity of colour and the strange markings of the dogs pelt. He knew that Ducky had said that the dogs' colouring had been odd, but even Gibbs wondered at the obvious… wolfishness behind the markings.

Ice lay on his side panting heavily as he slowly eased the tension in his muscles, Gibbs ran a heavy hand over the husky's flank, mentally documenting the predominant ribs and corded muscles that moved like steel beneath the husky's fur. DiNozzo scoffed to himself, drawing Gibbs and Kate's eyes.

DiNozzo shrugged beneath their scrutiny, his hand bleeding slightly and smiled in a semblance of his usual cockiness. "Just that, well, we handled that poorly," Tony laughed self-deprecatingly. "You never touch a frightened dog; you always speak gently and softly and well, we kinda crowded the poor guy. Must've freaked him right out."

"Tony, the dog bit you, it should be put down!" Kate objected, her brown eyes hard as she watched her teammate wrap his t-shirt more firmly around, what was admittedly, mostly superficial wounding.

Tony drew himself up, missing the way that Gibbs' eyes had tightened at Kate's words and the way that Ice had stilled. "It wasn't Ice's fault, didn't you hear me? The poor guy was frightened out of his wits!"

Kate scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, like that matters," Kate snapped angrily shooting a hard look at the dog in her boss' arms. "It probably has rabies or something, Tony!"

Tony shrugged, unconcerned, "if he does, I'll just get it treated."

Gibbs felt a smile tug at his lips and, carefully dislodging the boneless husky from his lap, stood and slapped the back of Kate's head. "We're not putting the dog down, Kate," Gibbs stated firmly.

"Gibbs!" Kate protested her hand flying up to her head in shock. "The dog hurt Tony!"

"You know," Tony smirked at Kate cheekily, "you almost sound like you care about me, Kate."

"Heaven forbid," Kate shot back witheringly.

Gibbs ran a hand through his short grey hair in exasperation and checked the time: 1923. Definitely home time.

"Yeah, well," Tony was saying, "it had to happen eventually!"

"Enough!" Gibbs barked in annoyance. "Go home; get some rest; before I shoot you."

Kate and DiNozzo took two minutes to gape at their superior officer before simultaneously snatching up their gear and heading to the lift. Both knew when to call it quits and neither was willing to let an early night slip them by. Gibbs smirked in amusement as they practically sprinted to the elevator.

"Bye, Gibbs!" They called over their shoulders.

Gibbs rolled his eyes for what felt like the fiftieth time that day and turned to Ice who was sitting beside his desk, waiting attentively with his head tilted in curiosity at his new owner. "Just you and me tonight, Ice. You ready to head home?"

Ice barked happily, wagging his tail furiously; any memory of the traumatising events not an hour ago wasn't present in those happy, icy blue eyes and Gibbs felt reassured that maybe, just maybe, his only witness to an inexplicable murder that the Director refused to answer about, would be okay.

**xXx**

Ice lay on the backseat of Gibbs' car and dug his blunt nails into the thick leather of the seat; the man was an _insane_ driver. The husky dog who had regained his memories wondered just at the speed limit allowed for muggle's, because there was no way that L. J. Gibbs was adhering to it!

The large dog watched trees zip past in the gathering dark where clouds boiled above the zooming car and the heavy tang of rain was easily scented on the evening air. Gibbs swore as he swung his car wide of a blaring truck, the driver hanging out of his window and swearing voluminously at the retreating black sedan.

Ice felt his ears lay tight against his head and turned his brilliantly blue eyes towards the human in incredulous shock; surely that had been illegal? _Right_?

Gibbs swung the car violently once more, but this time he also stomped hard on the breaks; sending Ice tumbling to the floor with a high pitched yelp.

Gibbs blinked in shock, he'd been caught up in the case and had forgotten about his passenger; turning around, the ex-marine stared down at the disgruntled husky who stared back at him with clearly disapproving eyes. "You alright there?"

Flicking his ear as he heaved himself upright, Ice proceeded to ignore Gibbs as the man opened the door for him and gathered up the bags of treats, toys and food that DiNozzo had bought him earlier. Before the nightmare. Ice shuddered in remembered fear and followed Gibbs into the double story, white washed, weatherboard house.

Ice stood in the middle of a large, airy living-room-come-dining-room and breathed in deeply; noting the scent of sawdust, leather, honey, sugar and antiseptic were prominent in the area. Clearly the pack-_no,_ Ice gritted his teeth, _team_, spent a lot of time here together.

As Gibbs rustled around in the kitchen, banging pots, pans and plastic containers; Ice traced the large living room, his nose to the ground as he searched for potential danger. Confident that everything there was safe, Ice then made tracks up the tall, narrow staircase, noting the worn wood and scuffed landing. Gibbs' room was swarming with the scents of many females, some older than others but most sickly sweet. Ice wrinkled his nose in disgust.

The spare bedroom was overwhelmingly marked by leather, sugar and honey, and Ice felt his ears heat up when he scented Gibbs' own scent on a corner of the bed, as though he had sat and stared at someone; potentially as they slept. Flicking an ear in indecision, Ice back tracked and returned to the landing, leaving the bedrooms for another time; things were too uncertain, after all, Ice didn't have a very good handle on how the pack- team acted amongst themselves.

Returning downstairs, Ice padded into the kitchen and dropped his jaw into a canine grin at Gibbs who smirked in amusement. Blue eyes twinkling, Gibbs set a bowl of chopped meat in a corner of the kitchen beside a full water bowl and watched the husky dive on the food.

"Satisfy your curiosity then, Ice?" Gibbs chuckled; who knew dogs could be such good entertainment value?

Ice grunted in reply, bolting down his dinner as Gibbs drank his bourbon straight from the bottle and prepared steak and potatoes for himself. Not an hour later Gibbs was pushing himself to his feet and dumping his plate and cutlery in the sink, his belly full with good, hot food and led his newest companion down the stairs and into his basement.

Ice padded down the stairs, his nostrils twitching as he discovered the source of the sawdust scent that Gibbs carried around with him. A medium sized dinghy was slowly being constructed in the small basement; the bare, unvarnished ribs poking upwards like the belly of some kind of beast.

Ice grumbled slightly as he followed Gibbs around the boat, his flank practically brushing against Gibbs' side; revelling in the unconscious and brief touches that Gibbs bestowed on him as the man quietly and carefully checked the joins that held the boat together and the pattern of the wood before grabbing a sander and continuing on the boats construction.

Ice huffed in exasperation and resignation as he settled himself in the corner that provided the best surveillance of the basement and settled into an uneasy doze. The nightmare from earlier had broken through the unconscious barriers that he had erected in his mind; protecting his psyche from damage after the Neo-Death Eater had cursed him.

His current form in the shape of a wolfish husky dog went directly against his projected animagus form of a domestic house cat of no discernible breed. Harry, within Ice's mind, wondered just how this would affect his ability to transform back into his human body; particularly as the man responsible was still alive and very much at large in the magical communities of America. It was not a well known fact that wizards could get stuck in their animagus forms and was very much a big reason for the regulation and control of the transformation; no matter what the conspiracy nuts will tell you, the Ministry's for Magic around the world did have the best intentions for their subjects/voters and really didn't want people stuck as bugs or fish or whatever.

Harry settled his nose onto his paws and watched Gibbs sand the boat with long smooth strokes, dust motes swirling around the older man like a halo of gold; and Harry allowed fancy to overtake him momentarily and wondered if this was what life would have been like as a child with the Potters. Sure, Harry had no idea if James Potter was actually any good at building things; or if Lily Potter would have allowed his father to build a boat or furniture in the basement they may or may not have had; and despite Harry being nearly thirty, the loss and absence of his never-known parents haunted him still.

Harry let out a deep, dragging sigh and allowed his eyes to sink shut, it did not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live. Nose twitching as sawdust settled into his long fur, Harry sank back into Ice's psyche and allowed the husky control once more. Clearly being an animagus was considerably different to being a cursed man in a creatures body. Somehow, the idea that Harry was a bird of some kind had permeated British popular culture (as it wasn't normal to be that good on a broom) and the Neo-Death Eater had undoubtably cursed him with a spell that forced the target into the 'opposite' of their potential animagus form. After all, it was the only solution that made sense and most, if not all people would agree that the opposite of a bird was a fish. Thankfully, Harry had been a black mixed, domestic cat breed; something he blamed his fortune of 'nine lives' on.

Gibbs dusted the bench off with a large, callused hand and smiled at the huffing husky; whatever the dog was dreaming of, it sounded interesting to say the least. Ice blue eyes flickered open briefly as Gibbs settled himself beneath his boat, ignoring the way the flat wood arched his back uncomfortably and Gibbs let out his own sigh of contentment and allowed himself to drift off to sleep. It was late and undoubtably something would come up tomorrow that would require his full attention. The last thought that drifted through his mind was the curious notion that while the dog was oddly intelligent, it was also oddly protective of the strangers that he'd only just met. Perhaps Ice wasn't much of a descriptive name for the husky after all, and Gibbs' breathing fell to smooth, deepness as his mind overturned the idea of renaming the, oddly, loyal beast.

**xXx**

"_U.S. farm report; America's longest running agri-business news program_."

Gibbs hated mornings. It was a little known fact that the ex-marine could have quite happily slept until ten each morning as long as he had plenty of coffee for the (frankly horrible) waking moments and his jars of bourbon to keep him occupied each night while he built his boat. With such preference given to being a night owl, that he was now woken up by the screeching of his cell phone only made him crankier than normal.

"Yeah, Gibbs," he grunted, struggling upright to the sound of the farm report on his television. Gibbs blinked at the black box in confusion, he didn't remember turning it on; he usually didn't sleep well if he was distracted by unnatural noises and sirens.

Ice huffed and grunted as he too struggled to a seated position and stared blearily at his new master. Who in _hell_ got up this early? It was surely unnatural, the husky thought to himself. Inside the husky's mind, hidden by surface thoughts and lingering dreams, Harry privately agree with that assessment, scowling at the NCIS Agent with grumpy resignation.

"Hey, boss." Tony. Dammit, that meant there was a case; and a case meant no more sleep this morning. Gibbs bit back a groan. Damn! "Rise and shine." Tony sounded way too chirpy for this early in the morning; what the hell kind of satan spawn was this happy at- dammit, when exactly was it?

"Oh," Gibbs grunted, falling backwards once more and staring at his watch. "Zero five twenty; that's all I get?" Gibbs was unimpressed; this was the hour that birds and idiots got up, not him. Gibbs pointedly ignored that he was one of those idiots during his time in the Core; he'd have been half-way through a ten mile run at this point in time when he'd been on active duty. Fuck, but there were days when he didn't miss it.

"Yeah, okay, I'm up." Gibbs groaned, sitting upright once again and patting Ice's head as the husky dog wandered over. A thought occurred to him; "are you at the office?"

Tony's voice drifted into the phone still unnaturally bright and chirpy. "Yeah, the boiler blew in my apartment so… it knocked out the power. I won't have any heat or electricity for a month." Under the circumstances Gibbs could actually forgive his senior agent for waking him up at the butt-crack of dawn. A smile tugged at his mouth at the thought.

"So," Tony's voice sounded amused. "You fall asleep working on your boat again?"

Gibbs blinked in mild surprise; "why do you say that…?"

"Boss, I know the Farm Report when I hear it." Gibbs could hear Tony's grin in his tone and he rolled his eyes in annoyance. DiNozzo was going the right way for a head-slap. "You only have one TV," Tony's grin became even more pronounced as he continued; "and it's in your basement."

Gibbs grunted and shoved Ice's head away as the demanding husky continued to beg another scratch from the older man. What've you got, DiNozzo?" Gibbs demanded, no longer interested in his senior agents witticisms.

The reply was prompt: "A motorist picked up a Jane Doe in Rock Creek Park." The rustling of paper on the other end indicated that Tony was checking through his notes. "Claimed she dug herself out of a grave. There was no ID; and guess what?"

Gibbs rolled his eyes once more and sighed at he met the ever curious Ice's eyes. '_Is he an idiot?_' Gibbs mouthed at the grinning dog. Ice wagged his tail and followed the man upstairs and into the kitchen. Gibbs decided to humour DiNozzo and played along, "she can't remember her name?"

DiNozzo was clearly a bit stumped by Gibbs' reply; "yeah, how'd you know that?"

"Well, I don't know, DiNozzo," Gibbs replied shortly, rolling his eyes for the third time. Sometimes it didn't pay to be Tony's boss. "Maybe because she's alive and you're calling her Jane Doe. What was supposed to be my first clue?"

"Oh, yeah; that's right." Tony had the grace to sound slightly embarrassed.

Gibbs flicked his percolator on and filled the filter with thick, black coffee grounds; pulling out a battered mug from his cupboard as he did so. "Well, it's also obvious that she has no I.D. so she was probably wearing a uniform."

A reasonable assumption, but one that Tony was quick to shoot down.

"Ah ha ha! She wasn't!" DiNozzo sounded so smug too; Gibbs bit back a growling retort and allowed Tony to have his fun. "So why did the cops call NCIS? Now tell me that, Boss."

Gibbs allowed a moment of peace as he filled his coffee cup with what amounted as black sludge and drained it dry in one gulp. Filling Ice's bowl with a scoop of dry food that the husky practically inhaled, Gibbs drank his second cup of coffee and DiNozzo finally continued his explanation.

"She told them there's a bomb on a Navy ship." Tony had definitely got Gibbs' attention with that explanation as the ex-marine felt a jolt of adrenaline shoot through his spine.

"Hospital?" Gibbs' question was closer to a demand.

"Georgetown University."

Gibbs grunted once again, slamming his mug down and making his way to the backdoor to let the husky out; "Get Kate over there. I'll call Ducky and meet you outside the office in twenty."

"Hey listen, since um, you know..." Gibbs raised an eyebrow, a feeling of apprehension sliding through his gut, "since you're always up all night working on your boat downstairs…"

"No, you cannot stay at my place." Gibbs swiftly cut Tony off, deciding to nip that idea in the bud. "Remember last time?"

Before Tony could answer, Gibbs shut off his cell and pounded back downstairs to grab his back-up gun and magazine clips. Something hinky, as Abbs would say, was going down and it would be best to be prepared for anything. Turning to the TV set, Gibbs caught the last of a report detailing the appearance of a woman who had apparently been buried alive. Gibbs rolled his eyes again and switched the set off; journalists were such scavengers, dammit but he hated them.

**xXx**

Gibbs watched Kate type up the last of her report detailing the suicide of Suzanne McNeil and the murder of her boss and lover, Stephen Brauer. It had been a rough day for everyone involved but none had been as hard hit as Caitlin Todd. Gibbs sighed tiredly and rubbed his eyes; all he wanted to do was go home and sleep but some how, the idea of leaving Kate alone tonight of all nights, seemed a bit wrong.

"Come on," Gibbs said as he paused by Kate's desk, allowing her a moment to sign off on the newly printed report. "Your with me tonight."

Kate put her pen down with a sense of finality, her eyes, hidden behind her bangs, were weary with guilt and sadness; she felt as though she had failed everyone, McNeil and Brauer notwithstanding. "Isn't Tony staying at your place tonight, Gibbs?"

Gibbs smirked, a brow raised as he regarded his protégée; "what, you think I only have the one room, Agent Todd?"

Kate ducked her head further into her chest, "no."

"Well, there you go," Gibbs remarked, surveying the empty bullpen. It was late, and as Kate Todd gathered her gear and swung her heavy wool coat around her lithe frame, Gibbs quietly shut down his computer and tossed his badge and federal gun into his secure case, the magazines for which stayed in his pocket. Gibbs had learnt from idiotic FBI agents to never leave a loaded weapon in your desk; you never knew who might pick it up and discharge it.

Kate led the way into the elevator, her head still bowed in shame, with Gibbs bringing up the rear, his eyes pensive. How did one go about relieving a person of guilt that they, arguably, did own a portion of. Not that Kate could have done much different, even Gibbs had been unaware of McNeil's falsity until the end. Mind, he hadn't been in serious contact with the woman either, more concerned with the bomb threat than anything else; so maybe Kate did have something to answer to after all.

Gibbs was still mulling things over as he climbed into his car and led Kate, in her own automobile, through the D.C streets towards his house in the outer suburbs. As he pulled into his drive, noting Tony's mustang already parked out the front, Gibbs wondered what he should cook the two people visiting his house or if he should just order take out. Entering his medium, double storied house, Gibbs' nostrils were flooded with the scent of Chinese take-out and the sight of Tony, lounging on his couch with far too much food for two people -let alone three-, watching _Magnum_.

"_Tony_!" Kate scolded, sounding scandalised as she swept in, her coat and scarf already decorating Gibbs' hooks beside his own more serviceable jacket and Tony's leather bomber. "What are you doing?"

Tony shot her a dryly amused look, his mouth stuffed with fried rice and Mongolian beef; swallowing thickly to clear his mouth. "What does it look like, Kate? I'm eating dinner."

Kate scowled, crossing her arms and shoving her hip out to the left, the very picture of frustration and annoyance. "This is Gibbs' house, Tony, you should show some respect!"

"Well, I was waiting for you guys," Tony replied, hastily wiping his chin as sauce threatened to dribble over it. "But you guys were taking so long, that well, I figured that I might as well start."

"Guys?" Kate now looked bewildered as she turned to Gibbs who was frowning around his empty room; he was sure that something was missing.

Tony shrugged casually, "well yeah, I mean, it was obvious that Gibbs wouldn't leave you alone tonight; I mean, you went through hell today."

Kate face immediately shut down and she seated herself on Gibbs' favourite armchair and sighed heavily. "I don't want to talk about it."

Tony shrugged again, "yeah, sure." He reached over and grabbed a carton of rice and dished it up on a clean plate and held it out to his colleague. "Here, eat something. It'll make you feel better."

Gibbs watched the duo swap food around and smiled briefly before making tracks to the back door. Unhooking the latch, Gibbs peeked around the door jamb to meet icy blue eyes and a laughing canine grin. "Evening Ice, you been a good boy today?"

Ice tensing was Gibbs' only warning before a charging husky dog barrelled into him and sent him flat on his back. Grunting heavily as he was winded, Gibbs attempted to fend the beast from trying to dissolve his face in spittle as the dog greeted him enthusiastically. Rough hands threaded their way through thick fur and tightened their hold, pinning the husky to the mans' chest; heaving slightly, Gibbs dislodged Ice just enough to push the husky off his torso and sat upright, ignoring the way his suit and shirt were crumpled and dirtied with sawdust and mud.

"Good boy, Ice," Gibbs panted, stroking the husky's head. Ice's eyes were closed in bliss and an unmistakable smile curved the corners of the dogs lips. "Although, I would prefer a gentler greeting tomorrow; I'm not as young as I used to be."

The snapping of a camera lens had Gibbs spinning around to be confronted by a grinning DiNozzo, the one holding the camera, and a gently smiling Kate. Gibbs felt his stomach sink to his shoes as he watched his senior agent pocket the camera with a mischievous wink and knew, immediately and without a doubt, that the photo of himself and Ice cuddling on the floor in his kitchen would be making the rounds later this week. Briefly considering castrating DiNozzo, or at the very least, slapping him silly, Gibbs finally sighed, rolled his eyes and shoved the dog off his lap to Ice's clear disgruntlement.

"I ever see that picture, DiNozzo," Gibbs warned as he flicked his percolator on. "It'll be fifty laps around the gym and desk duty for a week."

"Yes, Boss!" DiNozzo snapped a salute with another wink and darted back into the lounge, unrepentant as always.

Kate raised an eyebrow in amusement, "that's it?" She asked. "Has the immutable Gibbs gone soft?"

Gibbs shot her a glare, finger washing his mug from early that morning. Kate smirked and sent the older man a flirtatious wink, clearly unthreatened, or at least unimpressed, by his glare, and swished her way into the lounge. Gibbs smirked as he poured himself a coffee; it was good to see Kate back to her usual flirty and confident self, today really had taken it out of her.

Gibbs sent the curious mutt, who was watching him intently, a small glare, "but you ever tell her I said that, I'll string you up by your tail!"

Ice let out a confused whine as he followed Gibbs into the lounge room, what did Gibbs say about Kate and why would it matter if he told her? Humans were so confusing! Ice grumbled to himself as he watched Gibbs snatch the remote from Tony's hand, muttering darkly about firing the younger man for removing his TV from the basement; and Kate explicitly and firmly explain that there was no way she was watching _Magnum_, as it was _so_ juvenile; while Tony howled about missing his favourite episode, his arms waving about madly as he expounded on his point. Somehow, Ice got the feeling that this was a day in the life of Gibbs' -obviously insane- team.


End file.
